by Kirby Lindsay, posted 5 May 2014
This summer the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will have the Fremont Bridge structure repainted – blue and orange. “I don’t know that anyone ever considered doing anything differently,” acknowledged Art Brochet, Communications Lead on the 2014 Painting Project, “we don’t want to have to think about doing anything different.” When it comes to the blue and orange color combo, he observed, “It’s part of Fremont’s identity.”
‘Please Be Patient’
The Fremont Bridge is a steel structure, and periodic painting protects it from corrosion. Originally built in 1917, the Bridge serves as a vital conduit in a busy traffic corridor, depended upon by freight, cyclists, pedestrians, transit, and over 28,000 vehicles a day. However, as one of the lowest of all of Seattle’s bridges, it also opens, frequently, to allow marine traffic to pass.
In May, SDOT will, hopefully, collect bids from contractors willing to paint the structure in accordance with the carefully laid out requirements set by the project team. The 2014 Fremont Bridge Painting must follow strict environmental standards, as well as rules as to when the bridge must be open to ground transit and/or marine traffic.
According to Brochet, the paint preparation work will likely start in early June. June is Fremont month, with plenty of activities and events, yet he firmly stated, “there is a blanket prohibition against any closures two hours before or after any timed events in Ballard, Queen Anne and Fremont – or any event in Downtown Seattle of over 10,000 people.” That means two hours before the Fremont Fair begins on June 20th to two hours after it closes on June 22nd, all painting activity will stop, and the bridge will be in normal operation.
Unfortunately, during the rest of the summer, the Painting Project team have given the contractor the option for a few weekend closures. Full northbound and/or full southbound closures can only take place between 3a – 6a on Saturday mornings and midnight to 6a on Sunday mornings. Notifications will be distributed about when these weekends will be (and, as per the blanket prohibition, they won’t be on event weekends in Fremont, Queen Anne or Ballard,) after the contractor is chosen, and that company develops a work plan.
“If there are lane closures,” Brochet explained, “they are needed for safety. Please be understanding and patient with us. Safety is our number one thing. We don’t want injuries, to any workers or drivers or pedestrians or bicyclists.”
‘Going to Surprise People’
As for the paint colors, “It’s not going to look the same to people,” Brochet warned, “the colors have faded. When that new paint goes on, it’s going to surprise people.” The blue and orange have mellowed since the last painting, and the new paint will be brighter hued. Since the last painting, “the pigments faded badly,” Brochet observed, “manufacturers have discovered it’s like trying to match faded cloth,” to try to restore the old colors.
And the planners never considered repainting the Fremont Bridge any other color, according to Brochet. “Anything we can do to avoid making changes,” he acknowledged, is a good thing.
SDOT began planning for the painting in 2013, to work out traffic mitigations, environmental risks, noise issues, safety regulations, etc. “You’d think there would be a pretty standard contract,” Brochet said, but there isn’t. Instead, the painting must be considered in the very unique setting of the Fremont Bridge, and its users and community. “That bridge has changed over the last 15 years,” Brochet observed, “and standards have changed. All that takes a level of detail that you wouldn’t believe.”
Anything changes in the work orders – including a paint color change – and the whole job would have to go through an entirely new bid process (not to mention the public process of chosing a paint color…) This would greatly extend an already lengthy planning for a fairly simple task – getting our bridge a new coating of protective paint.
This summer, SDOT and its contractor, will return the Fremont Bridge to its glorious, Technicolor-ish blue & orange. It may require a few detours up to the Aurora Bridge or over to Ballard Bridge for those who travel in the early hours, and delay some traffic during the rest of the week, but these delays keep our bridge – and the people around it – safe.
Construction is never fun, but the final results – a shiny and bright orange and blue bridge – will hopefully make all the difference.
Related Articles
- Blue & Orange, Fremont’s Colors Of Compromise
- by Kirby Lindsay, March 1, 2004 for Fremont.com
- Racing The Bridge
- by Kirby Lindsay, January 1, 2004 for Fremont.com
©2014 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.